BlackCard, a leading national cultural capability training provider, was one of two winners of the 2019 PwC & Murra Boost initiative, receiving skills development and expertise valued at $30,000.

“Working with PwC has created opportunities for us to scale and increase our impact both quickly and sustainably, developing our resilience as a business that has set us up so well for these unusual times under COVID.  The mentoring and business development to ensure BlackCard was able to pivot our business model to a digital environment was of great value to the BlackCard, authenticity and skills of the PwC team was absolutely amazing.  I have no doubt that these relationships will continue for even longer than the project itself,” said Mundanara Bayles, Co-Founder and Managing Director of BlackCard.

BlackCard’s approach is based on a cultural competency course developed by Lilla Watson and Mary Graham, Aboriginal Elders and Educators and long-time course developers and lecturers for the University of Queensland. The founders of the BlackCard have developed and taught core university subjects such as “Aboriginal Perspectives” and “Aboriginal Approaches to Knowledge” both at an undergraduate and post-graduate level since the 1970’s.

The demand for their knowledge and expertise as educators has grown beyond the university sector to the broader business and community sectors. This led the founders to develop the BlackCard. The BlackCard builds cultural competency to work effectively with members of the Aboriginal community. BlackCard’s approach requires strengthening ethical behaviour enabling all people to understand and undertake respectful relationships with each other using Aboriginal Terms of Reference.

The Boost Initiative, founded by PwC Australia and the MURRA Alumni, is designed to help strengthen business practices and build capacity within an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander organisation.

Working with PwC, BlackCard developed a strategy and implementation plan to translate the introductory model of their existing facilitator-led cultural competency training to a self-paced online course, allowing them to scale their offering and reach far more people.

The PwC & MURRA Boost Initiative was launched as part of Indigenous Business Month. By enhancing capabilities of First Nations businesses, PwC aims to support sustainable competitive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business growth.  

The initiative is supported by Asia Pacific Social Impact Centre at the University of Melbourne, 33 Creative, Iscariot Media, and PwC.